The present invention relates to a kit for trapping insects. The kit of the present invention allows a purchaser to efficiently and inexpensively construct a trap for insects according to the purchaser's specifications.
Prior art insect traps offer little or no opportunity for the user to customize the insect trap. Further, most insect traps on the market today are expensive and cannot be re-used once filled with insects or when no longer effective.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,504, to Andric, is a portable insect trap folded lengthwise, to create an insect run and a roof. It uses tabs to create transverse walls to hold up the roof and create dark slit openings to attract insects. An adhesive lines the bottom of the trap, but is set back from the edges to make the trap easily and safely handled and used.
Sekula, U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,956, is a roll of double-sided adhesive tape. One side of the tape sticks to a surface, while the other side contains an attractant for insects.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,679, to Collins, has an adhesive on its lower surface to adhere it to areas where an insect trap is desired. The upper surface of Collins has a poison which acts as an insecticide.
Foster, U.S. Pat. No. 919,149 is a double sided adhesive "fly tape" having removable tabs covering a surface not coated by adhesive. The tabs are removed prior to cutting the tape to expose a non-adhesive surface, which can be cut without resulting in adhesive adhering to the cutting instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,328,590, to Well, is a roach run constructed as an elongated box, which is open at both ends. The box is lined with an adhesive for trapping insects. However, the inner edges of the box are not coated with an adhesive, to prevent the adhesive material from flowing.
Geary, U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,756, is a roll of double-sided adhesive tape having one side to adhere to a surface and another side to hold an insect. The side for holding an insect preferably includes a poison.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,259, to Nishimura, is an adhesive which it contends has the ability to hold an insect's leg better than other adhesives. It may contain an attractant or poison. Additionally, it may be used to line a trap.
Rosie, U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,866, is an earwig collector in the shape of a box, with passageways, for trapping earwigs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,638, to Stevenson, is a tarp, such as that used under a sleeping bag when camping, which has an adhesive- or water-trap at its periphery for trapping insects.
Sherman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,981, is an insect trap which holds a contact poison. The edges of the trap are lined with felt to wipe the poison off the insect's feet, to minimize the amount of poison brought outside the trap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,811, to Shuster, is a hand-held device coated with adhesive. A user brings the device in contact with insects to trap the insects on the adhesive.
Kitterman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,590, is a disk-shaped insect trap with a central hole for mounting the trap on a pole-shaped object, for example, a tree. The trap uses adhesives and attractants to trap insects. A removable panel is provided for ease of cleaning out trapped insects.
None of the insect trapping devices discussed above are in the form of a kit. Accordingly, these traps, as well as others like them, can only be purchased in complete form and are often expensive as a result. Additionally, since these traps can only be purchased in complete form, they are incapable of being customized to meet the specific situation of the purchaser.